The first simultaneous launch of four Galileo European positioning satellites was successful

Nov.20,2016

The European Union (EU) and European Space Agency (ESA) successfully launched four satellites in the Galileo global navigation satellite system on an Ariane 5 ES rocket (an improved version of the Ariane 5) from Arianespace at the Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana at 10:06 on November 17 local time (22:06 JST). The satellites were put onto their prescribed orbit.

The last Galileo launch was on a Soyuz rocket in May of this year for the thirteenth and fourteenth satellites. These are the eleventh to fourteenth satellites for its Full Operational Capability (FOC) and the fifteenth to eighteenth in total including In-Orbit Validation (IOV). The four satellites weight 715 to 717 kilograms each for a total of 2,865 kilograms. This was the first simultaneous launch of four satellites. The rocket detached the first two satellites approximately three hours and 35 minutes after the launch, followed by the remaining two satellites about 20 minutes later, when the mission was completed.

The four launched are named "Antoniana," "Lisa," "Kimberly," and "Tijmen" after the winners of a children’s drawing contest in Europe. They will be put onto the operational orbit (different slot of the same orbital plane) after confirming initial functionality. ESA and Arianespace will launch a total of eight satellites on similar rockets in 2017 and 2018 with the aim of completing the system with 24 satellites and spare satellites in 2020.